Photo Essay: The Aleppo Citadel
While the fall of the Assad regime and the political transition in Syria have generated questions about the future stability of the country, tourism companies that were operating in Assad-held Syria and served as the most reliable means for foreign tourists to visit those parts of Syria in the years of the war prior to the regime’s fall are nonetheless still in business and keen for visitors to come. Of course, I share this sentiment and very much urge people to visit Syria for tourism purposes: the country has a wealth of tourism sites to offer and the country is in need of foreign cash flow to help the economy, amid sluggishness and reluctance on the part of various countries (especially the United States) to lift sanctions and reduce Syria’s international isolation.
It should be noted that prior to the fall of the Assad regime, these tourism companies could not serve as a means for journalists to gain access for reporting trips. Rather, the regime required that anyone known to have a link with journalism, regardless of intent in visiting, had to get special permission to visit the country by applying at a Syrian embassy. Of course, given that Syrian embassies were closed in many Western countries that had cut relations with the Assad regime, this often meant that Western journalists had to go to one of the embassies in Syria’s neighbours (particularly Lebanon and Jordan).
These tourism companies normally offer tours of varying length (e.g. from two days to seven days) and arrange hotel bookings, transportation, a guide and access to various sites that might have been accessible immediately after the regime fell but now require special permits for visits. If you do not speak Arabic, are visiting as a tourist for the very first time or are just curious about how these companies operate and how the situation was for them before and now, it might be worth arranging something. Tour companies can also provide a helpful supporting letter if you are asked at the border crossing and airport about your visit, initial accommodation etc.
Out of curiosity, I decided to try one of these companies- Golden Target Tourism (see here and here for contact details, and the phone number of director Khaldoun Alamy: +963 944 372 700)- for a short trip from Damascus to Aleppo, including a visit inside Aleppo citadel that is one of the most iconic sites in the city and currently requires a permit to visit. Over the course of the war during the battles in Aleppo city, the regime had been keen to maintain control of the citadel. That the citadel fell so rapidly in the final insurgent offensive on Aleppo was a testament to the seriousness of the collapse in the regime’s forces.
Interestingly, the tour guide was one of Syria’s few tour guides who had some working knowledge of Japanese, being originally from Damascus but married to a Japanese woman. The driver meanwhile was from the Hama town of Morek, which suffered severe damage during the course of the war. During the tour inside Aleppo citadel, we were accompanied by an armed guard responsible for security in the citadel. He was originally from the Idlib town of Maarat al-Numan, which became largely depopulated during the regime offensives on Idlib and its environs in the period 2018-2020, as the town came under regime control. During the route up towards Aleppo from Damascus, we passed through the M5 highway that runs through Maarat al-Numan and various other towns in Idlib countryside along that route that had been reclaimed by the regime during the same period. The original populations have mostly not returned, and it was striking how quiet and abandoned these areas still seemed.
The photos below are from inside Aleppo citadel with views of Aleppo city.
